President Thabo Mbeki has reappointed Tito Mboweni as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank for a second period of five years.
”President Thabo Mbeki, after consultation with the Minister of Finance [Trevor Manuel] and members of the Board of the South African Reserve Bank, has decided to reappoint Mboweni as governor of the bank for a period of five years,” a government statement said on Friday.
Mbeki also appointed Professor Raymond Parsons of the economics department at the University of Pretoria and Francois Groepe, chief financial officer of media group Media24, to the bank’s board.
Professor Vishnu Padayachee of the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is also a government representative on the board. His term was renewed last year.
”The President wishes the Governor and all other members of the board well in their service to the country,” the statement added.
The appointment follows mounting media speculation in recent days whether Mbeki would renew Mboweni’s contract that expires on August 8.
Reports on Thursday mooted former deputy governor Gill Marcus as his replacement.
She left the bank abruptly at the end of June.
Mboweni has himself attracted the ire of unions for saying that while the rand’s strength was painful, it held benefits for the economy in forcing companies to become more efficient.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions said the effects of an ”overvalued” rand had been catastrophic, with thousands of jobs lost and families thrown into poverty. – Sapa